1: Whispering Smoke - Evan Peters

Thanksgiving

Today was thanksgiving, and Evan had invited me over to his parents' house for dinner, requested by his own mom who decided it was time for her to meet her son's girlfriend. I was anticipating the worst, a lot of small talk, eating in silence and then going home wondering why the fuck I went in the first place. Although, I did want to meet Evan's roots and make a good first impression on his family.

I held up two mid-length dresses towards Evan on coat hangers, one crimson and one black, both in a satin slip style. Evan laughed and said his mom would think I was wearing lingerie. I groaned worrisomely, those were my two best options. Evan sat on his phone on the sofa, his feet up resting on the coffee table.

"So what should I wear then?" I asked, placing both my hands on my hips.

"I dont know, what you're wearing now?" He suggested, which I thought must've been a joke because I was wearing tights and a hoodie.

"Evan I'm serious," I groaned, going back towards the bedroom and picking up another couple of dresses.

I put on a tight, black floor-length dress, with long sleeves that were appropriate for the cold weather.

I went back out into the living room, to a wolf-whistle by Evan. He got up from the sofa and came over to me, wrapping his arms around me and kissing me on the cheek.

"You look beautiful," he whispered in my ear, giving me another kiss on the cheek. I smiled to myself, and ventured back into the room to finish getting ready.

When I was ready, I came out again to see Evan in the same position on the couch, still on his phone. He was wearing black jeans and a white t shirt, with a denim Sherpa-lined jacket. He looked amazingly good, he'd shaved his beard so I could see the entirety of his face and dimples.

"Ready my angel?" He asked, getting up and grabbing his car keys off the counter and going over towards the door. I gave him a big smile and nodded my head in response.

We drove for 30 minutes at dusk. The car ride was scenic, I'd seen parts of St Louis I hadn't ventured out to before. Evan filled me in on his family, his cousins, his aunts and uncles, his older siblings, giving me a debrief of names and occupations. I tried to remember every one, but my nerves were occupying my mind the most.

Eventually, we pulled into a busy driveway, with only a small space to park, just bordering the neatly cut front lawn. Evan and I sat in silence as we stared out to the warmly-lit home, watching silhouettes pass the sheer curtains.

"You ready?" Evan turned to look at me, a small smile on his face. He seemed excited to see his family again.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I gave him a reassuring smile back, and leaned over the centre console to give him a kiss.

Evan held my hand as we made our way to the front door, Evan reaching out and knocking on the white wood. A small, stout woman opened the door and her eyes lit up when she saw Evan. She instantly pulled him in for a hug, and he hugged her tightly back. She wore a thanksgiving apron, and seemed to have gotten pumpkin pie in her short hair. Evan noticed too, because he picked it out and tossed it back outside.

"Hey mom," he said, happily, "this is my girlfriend , Alex," he introduced me, and I knew it was now or never.

"Hi Mrs Peters, thank you for having me over for dinner," I knew my manners and how to be polite. She smiled at me as she shook my hand.

"Julie is fine, it's lovely to meet you Alex," She smiled at me and held the door open to let us inside. Small kids wizzed passed us as we entered the living room, where I could see a collection of adults sitting on the sofa and sipping on various kinds of drinks.